Saturday, February 20, 2016

Xanadu (1980)

Olivia Newton-John was hoping to strike gold twice by starring in another musical. Unfortunately what resulted was the cinematic turd that is Xanadu. It belongs on the DVD shelf next to Showgirls and Sleepaway Camp in the so-bad-it's-good section. The soundtrack, however, is pretty awesome. 1 side ELO, 1 side ON-J, one song ELO & ON-J. OMG!

Location: Club Xanadu

Address:7600 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA Club Xanadu was formerly known at The Pan Pacific Auditorium. It burned down in 1989 and was rebuilt in 2002 including one of the old towers.

If you ever visited Disney's MGM/Hollywood Studios, you'll notice the ticket entrance is modeled after the Pan Pacific Auditorium. Although the shape the park is in these days, it's a place where nobody would dare to go.

The "Platinum Palace" in Burbank was a former Ralph's grocery store. To the left of the frame you can see a bit of the "Golden Mall" pedestrian mall walkway that existed there from about 1967-1989. The Promenade (built in 1985), now known as "Avalon Burbank" apartments occupies the site.